Shalina Photography
The upcoming HBO series Looking has already been compared to two post-feminist dramedies that firmly planted their flags in the sexual landscape of the 21st century, Sex and the City and Girls. But like those groundbreaking shows, your ability to find the sexual candor of Looking authentic might depend entirely on regionalisms or a generational divide.
Although that might be moot when it comes to O-T Fagbenle. While the other characters can hide behind a scrim of sexual choices, his rendering of Frank makes him the most easily visible character on the show. He seems oddly unconflicted, exactly the kind of queer everyman a show like Looking needs.
Even if Frank doesn't feel completely recognizable to you, you will likely wish he were, which is why we wanted to sit down with O-T Fagbenle. What better place to turn for insights into Looking than the actor playing the most centered character on the show?
So, O-T, we might as well start at the deep end of the pool. Looking calls some of the contemporary orthodoxies of gay life into question while it reinforces other ones. Are there aspects of the show that seem particularly true to you? Are there any you struggled with?
My experiences with people who are gay are so eclectic and diverse (as are my experiences with people who are straight), that having lived in the 'straight world' my whole life I recognize more similarities than differences. On the series, our gay characters are in long term relationships, short term relationships, online dating, struggling with the facts of being older and single - all things that straight, bisexual, and almost every other shade of the sexual spectrum deal with. Sure they have gay friends and go to gay bars but I think it's true to say the most interesting things about these characters isn't their sexual orientation, It's their individual perspectives on life and how they deal with looking for love, sex and friendships.
Gay characters have become fairly familiar on the small screen. Would you say Looking is breaking new turf in terms of representation, and did you feel some responsibility to "get it right?"
When representation of the LBGT community was much more scarce in the media, I think there was some kind of pressure to encapsulate an entire community in a single character - this can often be a fast track to generalization and stereotypes. Michael Lannan and Andrew Haigh are so talented at bringing subtle and defined characters to the fore that the gay characters are real and identifiable without being these stock characters out of gay folklore. It's refreshing!
The pressure to "get it right" was definitely there for me, I didn't want to mess this bad boy up so I asked if HBO would fly me to San Francisco before the shoot, so I could spend more time researching and getting a feel for that amazing city and the places were Frank might hang out. I also pretty much tried to stay in character during the entire shoot, which was interesting.
Perfect segue. Because of its significance in American gay history, San Francisco is practically the show's main character. As a Londoner, can you give us some insights into your process for unveiling the soul of the city?
I cycled and walked around San Francisco a lot, made local friends, partied in The Mission, The Castro, the Folsom Fair, spoke to the homeless a lot. I also visited the nude beaches and the redwood forests - there is a lot to do in San Fran. I definitely think I scratched the surface but it's an evolving city so it would take time to get your whole finger in. Shout out to Oakland - that place is cool as #%!*.
There is something off-the-cuff about your reading of your character, Frank. Is he someone you were already familiar with, or was he something of a surprise to you?
Thank you ... I think! Walt Whitman said of himself 'I am large, I contain multitudes,' and I definitely recognize Frank very within my multitudes! Playing him was mostly a matter of allowing myself to reveal some inner shades of me.
When we meet Frank, he is the boyfriend of the only coupled character in the show, Agustin (Frankie J. Alvarez). It's clear from the start that Frank has his hands full, but he seems unfazed by Agustin. Is he simply uncomplicated, or is something else going on there?
Frank is a healer, he desperately wants that independent and troubled lover that he can soothe and tame. He knows if he plays the 'Mom' and tries to control Augustin too hard and too quick it will push his love away. He's playing the long game.
If you were having coffee with Frank, what advice would you have for him about his new boyfriend?
Haha! Umm. Maya Angelou once said 'When someone shows you who they are ... believe them.’ It's good advice for Frank but hell, I'd give that advice to anybody.
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HBO
Perhaps unintentionally, Sex and the City was the juggernaut that helped solidify HBO's queer audience. What is intentional, however, is the notion behind its upcoming State-of-the-Gay-Union dramedy, Looking: a bid to be taken more seriously on queer turf than either Bravo or Showtime.
They are off to a good start, borrowing more than a little audience from Glee with actor Jonathan Groff, and some gravitas from Andrew Haigh, the auteur of the acclaimed gay cult movie Weekend, who directed the show's first episode.
While comparisons are inevitable between Sex and Looking, there is every chance this glimpse of the complexities of gay life in the 21st Century will reap the benefits of the decade of serious programming that bridge them, as typified by the groundbreaking Six Feet Under.
Of course, expectations are running high as a result, expectations that parallel a growing cultural appetite for the missing component absent not only in Carrie and her Posse, but from most depictions of our LGBTQ family, friends and lovers.
That, of course, would be soul.
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If your favorite part of Girls was Andrew Rannells' bitingly humorous Elijah, Hannah's gay ex-boyfriend slash roommate, then your life is about to get a whole lot better. HBO just gave the go-ahead to a project that sounds just like Girls except all of the characters are guys...and gay...and live in San Francisco.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network ordered eight episodes of an untitled show from producer Sarah Condon (Bored to Death), David Marshall Grant (Brothers &amp; Sisters) and writer/producer Michael Lannan. The show stars Glee's Jonathan Groff as one of a trio of gay dudes who live in San Fran and get up to wacky antics and explore the world of the modern gay man. That sounds like there is going to be a Grindr subplot! The pilot, which HBO obviously loved, was directed by Andrew Haigh who made critically-loved gay indie Weekend, so I have high hopes.
The show doesn't have a name, but I don't think I'll be the first to suggest Boys. Or Gays. Gay Boys? Gurls?
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In Indie Seen, we take a look at the smaller (but just as fantastic) films making their way into theaters alongside the big Hollywood tentpoles. Movies
Even in our progressive world, where gay couples can live openly, marry one another and adopt children, the film industry has a difficult time portraying gay relationships as simply "relationships." You don't see mainstream films with gay couples unless their homosexuality is directly acknowledged. That, for one reason or another, it's a big deal that they're gay. Even indies can't seem to bring it up without making it a thing—to the point where gay drama is becoming a low-budget cliche
So when a movie takes a subdued approach to portraying a gay relationship, depicting it simply and honestly, that bond automatically feels a thousand times more refreshing, exhilarating and tangible. That's what Weekend achieves, a new movie by British filmmaker Andrew Haigh that follows two men who find themselves caught in a romantic whirlwind over the course of (you guessed it) one weekend. The movie centers on Russell (Tom Cullen), a mellow, introverted lifeguard who we quickly learn is disinterested in discussing his sex life with friends. One night, while flying solo at a bar, Russell meets Glen (Chris New), and a night of small talk and drinking leads the two gentlemen back to Russell's place. While the next morning reveals a few ulterior motives (Glen wants Russell to chronicle the previous night's encounter on tape for an art project), through morning conversation, both men find quickly themselves entranced by one another.
While Russell has trepidations over engaging sexually with Glen and Glen struggles with his own commitment issues, neither character arc deals explicitly with gay issues. They're the bumps in the road of any budding relationship, especially one that sparks as brightly as the instant connection between Weekend's two leads. Like Before Sunset or Once, Haigh shoots the action simply, relying on his characters realistic actions to stoke the fire of intimacy. The two leads have chemistry—you wouldn't be able to sit there and watch them snort cocaine, play Guess Who and make out if they didn't—and it gives us a reason to invest in Weekend's simple story.
After attending a screening of the film at South by Southwest Festival (where it won the Emerging Visions Audience Award) I realized that Weekend wasn't just a great movie, but an important one. Weekend is relatable through and through, from the adorable moments of watching two people hesitantly fall for each other to the gut-wrenching experience of seeing two new lovers faced with big, last-minute decisions (early in the film you discover Glen is set to go overseas for school). There's no angle. These are just two guys who fell in love. And it's convincing.
There are great films, great art, great people out there in the world helping set the equality bar where it needs to be, but Weekend doesn't feel like that film. It's not political. Instead, the movie feels one step ahead of the curve. Not only can we live in a place where everyone's equal, but we can live in a place where everything's the norm, where experiences are shared across all types of people, no matter the differences. I doubt anyone, no matter what their feelings on homosexuality, could watch Weekend and walk away not empathizing with what Russell and Glen endure in their short time together. Weekend might be a small film recounting an intimate relationship, but it speaks to the grandest of ideas.
Weekend is currently in limited release. You can find out how to see the movie by heading to the movie's website.
You can contact Matt Patches directly on Twitter @misterpatches and remember to follow@Hollywood_com!

Haven't had your fill of high-concept romance with One Day? Fortunately for you, that first world problem should be solved by English romance Weekend. The independent film stars unknown actors Tom Cullen and Chris New as a pair of gay men whose one night stand turns into a budding weekend-long romance - with an unavoidable expiration date. It's sort of like dreamy Ethan Hawke/Julie Delpy romance Before Sunrise, but with two hot dudes for the price of one.
In this first trailer, watch the main characters Glen and Russell fall in love to the strains of indie rock. The trailer makes the whole thing seem kind of cutesy, but it's gotten some great reviews (including this one from our own Matt Patches) and won the Audience Award at this year's SXSW.
It's always nice to see a romance break out of the "attractive, young, white, rich and heterosexual" bubble, even if it's just into the "attractive, young, white, slightly less rich and homosexual" bubble.
Directed by Andrew Haigh, Weekend comes to the US on September 23, for a limited release.
Watch it in HD at Apple